Why I don’t facebook

I’ve been reading with a groan the Patraeus scandal, a time-weary age-old story of illicit sexual liaison. This human nature honey trap seems to catch most people, and especially men in powerful positions, way too often. Power makes them more attractive than they would normally be, but even the most mundane and pedestrian among us will succumb to an attraction at some time. It’s human nature; being desired by someone is a heavy aphrodisiac, coupled with complacency at home and bam: a recipe for an affair.

As we saw with Bill Clinton, it can be used to self-righteously declare someone unfit for their job. What a waste of time his impeachment over a sophomoric secret he was trying to keep (got your hand caught in the cookie jar, Bill? to quote his own line).

But here’s what I really don’t understand. In the age of Anthony Weiner sexting, top-secret classified documentation and cyber-bullying, how can these idiots possibly think that emails will remain personal and private?

I think from about 5 years ago we should have said to ourselves, “I will not write anything down anywhere unless I look at it first and imagine it being read by 1 million hits.”

Period. End of report.

Here’s a tip, fellows: whisper your sweet nothings; because when you write them down, they blow up into something big.